Dumpster
by bbuzz28
Summary: modern AU where while Tyrion comes to Sansa's defense it does not go as planned.


He knew exactly how he had ended up in the dumpster behind the cafeteria; the only real question was why? Why did he have to mouth off in defense of his nephew's ex-girlfriend? Being a Teacher's Assistant- _who in theory should have some sort of authority over undergrads_ \- didn't save him from being punted like a football into the dumpster, nor did his illustrious last name save his already distorted features from a split lower lip served to him by one of his nephew's Neanderthal-like lackeys. If he had taken the proper channels to reprimand Joffrey; taking him aside in private and threatening to tell the President of the University who is Joffrey's grandfather and his father exactly how he had really managed to maintain his GPA if he heard him speak about the girl like that again, maybe it would have scared the boy into submission. As it stood however his comment about him hardly being man enough for a beauty like Sansa Stark in the first place had earned him a head-first swan dive into Thursday's left-over seafood chowder.

Sweet smelling Sansa Stark who had always been alert in class, always handed in her papers beforehand with her obvious intellect that jumped off of every page she wrote was the reason why he would need to take ten showers that night. Having gone through a slew of familial disasters that he didn't know all the details of she had finally rid herself of his vile nephew. It was Joff's colorful version of events that had sent him on his doomed path this day. He didn't know what had made him so angry over his nephew's words; that he could be that cruel or that his false words were about the pretty girl with the firey auburn hair. They had been as friendly as TA's and students usually got on, though the few times she had come to him for advice over a reading assignment or which direction to take a paper in he had felt a connection between them. He was sure it was just in his head as most of his imagined relationships with women usually were, but he couldn't help but think about the way she had tried to hide her laugh behind her delicate ivory hand when he made a joke, or the way her blue eyes sparkled when she debated with him over the text. There was no real reason behind his feelings of the need to protect her, it's not as if the girl saw him as more than what they were, though if he were honest in the darkest reaches of his heart might he might have wished for more.

He stood in the garbage, trying to shake as much refuse from his person before he attempted to climb from the dumpster when the lid flew open. There she was, the Northern girl of his dreams, looking over him with such concern in her deep blue eyes that he let himself imagine that there was a little more than pity behind them. "Are you alright?" she asked softly. She had dark circles under her eyes, her mouth that had once been almost continuously in a smile now seemed frozen in a frown; if anything her new found severity had only made her more beautiful. He tried to laugh her concern off "me? I am great, though I don't think I will ever eat seafood chowder again." Wordlessly she extended her long arms to help him climb out of the dumpster and when he landed on the pavement she knelt and made quick work of getting the garbage off of him. He stood unmoving, letting the pretty girl cleanse him as he watched tears start to build in her eyes. "You didn't have to do that you know. He is just going to keep calling me every name in the book until he gets bored or he finds someone else to torture" she said humorlessly. He stopped her and momentarily took her hands in his "you don't deserve his cruelty, and I would do it again without thinking twice. Though next time I might wear less expensive shoes." He was doing his best to make light of the situation, but he didn't seem to be fooling her as she took a tissue from her pocket and lightly pressed it to his split lip, holding it there with some pressure to stop the bleeding. She was looking into his eyes, seemingly trying to read his thoughts when all he could really concentrate on was her delicate fingers wrapped lightly around his chin. They were silent, closer than they had ever been before, closer than he ever thought he would be with her ever and a small part of him rejoiced. Knowing she could hardly feel the same way he gently raised his hand and took hers off of his face "I am truly fine Miss Stark; I didn't do it so that you would feel any obligation to thank me, I would have much rather you have never found out. You are a lovely young lady whom my nephew hardly deserved to spend time with in the first place, let alone have untrue rumors being spread about you. I will not let him get away with it, at least not while I can stop it, though admittedly my attempt today was less than heroic." His words seemed to make her blush which caused him to develop a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach. After a moment she smiled at him, a smile he had never seen on her before "it's Sansa. I am no longer in classes with Professor Aemon, so you can call me Sansa." He grinned at her "well then I am Tyrion, Tyrion Lannister at your service my lady." She stood, smoothing the front of her green dress "well Tyrion, how about I walk with you to your car. Maybe after you shower for a few hours to get this smell off of you, you could…you could give me a call sometime."

He looked up at her dumbfounded and her smile started to falter "unless of course..." He stopped her, gently touching her elbow "I am sorry Sansa, it would seem I collected some chowder in my ears on my nose dive. I thought you just said that you would actually like to spend time with the likes of me." She blushed again as she picked some lettuce from his hair "it's not everyone who would smell like a dead whale just to defend a girl's honor. I think I would like to spend my time with a person like that." He couldn't stop the grin from breaking over his face "your wish is my command." They walked together slowly towards the parking lot and he couldn't help but thank his lucky stars for his big mouth that had gotten him into trouble once again; the results this time were better than he ever could have imagined.


End file.
